Game of Doctors
by Cynical Classicist
Summary: 20th in my series. 50th anniversary celebration featuring multiple Doctors. It begins on a world where the Ninth Doctor meets an old enemy...
1. Puzzle

On a planet, covered in ice, a wheezing, groaning sound began and a blue box appeared. The door opened and a tall man with close-cropped hair and a leather jacket stepped out and looked round him, seemingly fine despite the cold weather. He took the deep breath of the air and breathed out. Then he walked along, the ground crunching beneath his feet. In the sky, two stars, one red, one yellow were setting. The Doctor smiled. "What a lovely view" he said and smiled. "Fantastic!" As he continued walking forward he saw something on fire drop from the sky. "Seems like there's fire wherever I go" he said, and ran over.

Less than a kilometre away a ship lay in ruins. From the ship came two men and a woman, each taller than the Doctor, and in ragged remains of uniform. "Co-Navigator and Weapons Officer dead" said the oldest of them. "What happened to us?" "We seemed to have encountered some sort of force barrier" said the Woman. "Navigator!" The youngest of them turned to her, though held his head as blood seeped down. The Woman was about to say something but stopped. "Science Officer!" she said. "Yes Captain!" said the man. "See if you can send a signal" she said. "We need to let Command know of this force barrier. Perhaps that destroyed all the previous exhibitions." The Science Officer began work on the transmitter. "Thank the Power that it survived the crash!" he said. "Oh." "What?" said the Captain. "Communication won't get through" said the Science Officer. "Something's blocking it." "The barrier!" cried the Captain. "That could be it" said the Science Officer. "For the time-being it seems we're stuck here."

"Wait!" said the Captain. She had seen someone running towards them "Should we shoot?" said the Navigator, taking out his gun. "No! But keep your gun ready" said the Captain. The man got to them and gave a broad smile. "Hello, I'm the Doctor!" he said. "Doctor Who?" said the Captain. "Just, the Doctor" said the Doctor. The Captain looked him over. "Are you a native of this world?" she asked. "No. Why would I want to live in somewhere so cold? I just arrived" said the Doctor. "Where is your craft?" said the Captain. "Just over there" said the Doctor. "But I think it's smaller then you'd expect." "Show us where it is anyway" said the Captain. "I don't think I can go on" said the Navigation Officer. "Stay here to guard him" said the Captain to the Science Officer. "I will go with this man."

They walked towards the TARDIS. "Why have you come here?" said the Captain. "Sorry, didn't catch your name" said the Doctor. "Captain Henrietta Io Molkon from Procyon" said Molkon. "From the 18th Scientific Investigation Division of the 10th Galaxy." "I didn't ask for your address!" said the Doctor. "I'm just the Doctor. No fixed abode. Why are you here?" "About a month ago this planet suddenly appeared in this system. There have been multiple investigations but all the previous ships that have come to this planet have vanished. People call this place Puzzle." "This place sounds a bit grim" said the Doctor. "I was sent to investigate" continued the Captain. "But my ship crashed due to some barrier round this world and we can't communicate."

They got to the TARDIS. "Well, here it is" said the Doctor. The Captain looked over the TARDIS. "Trans-dimensional engineering" she said. "I was never able to understand it myself." "I doubt there are many humans who understand it" said the Doctor. "But my people had mastered it hundreds of millennia before I was even born." The Captain tapped the TARDIS. "Open it!" she said. "I need to send a message to the 10th Galaxy Investigation Division immediately!" There was a beeping on her wrist and a red light shone. She looked down. "What is it?" she said. "Terrible Danger! We are being attacked…" Then it cut off. Molkon ran back to the ship, followed by the Doctor.

The ship was lying before them. Molkon looked up. "Any idea what could have done this?" she asked the Doctor suspiciously. "Well, there are a lot of things that could have gone wrong" said the Doctor. "You never know what you could meet on an unknown planet." He looked round the ship. "Is there a black box recorder?" he said. "Of course!" said Molkon. The Doctor smiled. "I would have expected someone of this era to work that out!" Molkon began to use the black box. On the screen an image of the crash appeared. She continued to move through to the images while the Doctor stood behind her, arms clasped and looking round. Suddenly he saw something glint in the half-light of the world. "Molkon, you might want to look behind you" he said, as the glint happened closer. "Not yet, I'm at the point where we left!" said Molkon. The Doctor saw a bright blur move towards them. "Molkon!" he cried. "Turn round now you stupid ape!" "I will in a moment! There's something on the screen!" Next to them the blur stopped. "I can see what took them!" "I know what it is" said the Doctor, looking into the expressionless face before him. "Cybermen!"


	2. Caïssa

On a planet far away from the space lanes the TARDIS materialised. Out stepped a short man in a straw hat carrying a question-mark cane. Following him was a young woman with a bomber jacket and backpack. "Where are we now Professor?" she asked. "The planet Caïssa" said the Doctor. Around the area were tall oddly shaped towers, but they looked old and worn-down. "Not sure what drove us here" said the Doctor. "Might have been the TARDIS. Might have been something else" he said mysteriously. "Well Ace, we'd better explore." "Right Professor. I'll go this way" said Ace, walking towards a tower shaped like a Queen. "Ace!" yelled the Doctor. She turned. "Yes Professor?" "Be careful. And don't use the Nitro-9 you're not carrying unless I tell you." "Yes Professor" said Ace wearily, walking away.

The Doctor walked along and saw a tall building with a cross on top. It looked like a King from Chess, gleaming white. The Doctor got an odd sensation from this. It wasn't like it made him want to move away, but it felt familiar. "Well, it would be best to find out who, or what is there." He strolled to the building.

Ace walked around the towers. She felt they looked like huge chess pieces. Ace looked at the huge Queen, standing above her. She hadn't played chess much but she remembered the Doctor playing some in that house hundreds of years ago when they were meeting Lady Peinforte. Ace also remembered how she had been tricked into helping Fenric deduce the Doctor's plan in chess. That reminded her of the Doctor's plans, how he had to break her faith in him to save her. The Doctor was a mysterious man, she never felt entirely sure about what was doing, whether he had a plan or was making it up as she went along. A world of chess seemed like somewhere the Doctor would fit into.

On the door was a symbol in Old High Gallifreyan. It read Enter. "Well, I r-r-really must see what this is" said the Doctor. He touched the door, which slid away. The Doctor entered cautiously and saw a flight of stairs. He moved slowly up, and then heard a slam behind him. He wheeled round to see the door had closed. "I knew I should have rebuilt my screwdriver!" he said angrily. Suddenly there was a beeping sound. He turned and saw an image appear before him, of an old man. "Hello there!" he said raising his hat. "I'm the Doctor." He couldn't remember seeing the old man before but he looked familiar. "Just a moment..." said the Doctor. "I've already helped with Tarsus Six..." "Shut up and listen carefully" said the old man. "Something important is about to happen which means you need to listen carefully…"

There was a creaking behind Ace. "Oi! Is anybody there!" she yelled. Nobody answered. The creaking sound was heard again. Ace whirled round as a bizarre figure turned the corner. It was the Doctor. "Run Ace!" he cried. "Back to the TARDIS!"


	3. Maladoom

The Doctor and Henrietta ran along the icy ground of Puzzle, trying to escape the Cybermen right behind them. "Typical. A nice mystery to work out and there are Cybermen involved" he said to Henrietta, who was staggering from her sprint. The Doctor turned and saw the Cybermen moving at frightening speed, he had rarely seen Cybermen move this fast. In a second they had moved over 20 metres and were within arm-reach. "You will be converted" said one in a chillingly unemotional tone. "Not today!" said the Doctor. "I think my last upgrade has been enough of an improvement." He gave a big smile, hiding his misery deep within him.

Henrietta pulled out her gun, but there was a silver flash and her gun crashed to the ground in pieces. She cried out, her hand having been broken by the force of the blow. "What did you do that for?" said the Doctor angrily. "You Cybermen always have to cause trouble…" "You will both be converted" said the other Cyberman. It seized the Doctor in its powerful grasp; the Cybermen next to Henrietta seized her, and both Cybermen shot away like horses, towards a hill which swiftly opened to receive them.

Inside the Cybermen ran down a slope that stretched hundreds of metres. The Doctor couldn't say anything, against the rush of wind. The Cybermen finally stopped, dropping their prisoners. Round them was a cavern, large enough to fit Buckingham Palace in. It contained thousands of Cybermen, in and out of pods, and Cyber-Conversion chambers. Henrietta watched in horror. "Where are my crew?" she yelled. "I don't think their chances are good down here" said the Doctor. "Probably by now they'll be covered in metal and have a desire for conquest." Henrietta glared at the Cyberman who had taken her down, standing despite the pain in her hand. "What have you done?" she yelled. "What has happened to my crew?" "They became like us" said the Cyberman next to her. "You will be like us." The Cyberman said this without any trace of gloating or triumph; merely stating a fact like someone announcing weather in another part of the world.

The Cybermen that carried the Doctor advanced on him. "As much as I'd like to become a steel-faced thug…" began the Doctor. "You are to be taken to the Cyber-Master" said the Cyberman. "The Cyber-Master? Wonderful! We're old friends" said the Doctor sarcastically. "We can sit down, have tea, and discuss how I'm going to stop his insane plan!" He looked at Henrietta, who a Cyberman was pulling into a conversion chamber. "Don't do this to her!" he said angrily. "Why do you care?" said the Cyberman. "You are not turning her into a Cyberman!" said the Doctor. "Why do you care about her?" said the Cyberman, in a way that showed it genuinely didn't understand her. "They may seem like idiots at first…" began the Doctor. The Cyberman had stopped pushing Henrietta who looked angry. "Stop calling me…" "Shut up while I'm trying to save you!" said the Doctor. "As I was saying, humans can do a lot without handles on their heads..." "The Cyber-Master will allow you to take the female" said the Cyberman next to him. "You will both follow me. But if you attempt escape the female will be converted."

They walked through more metal tunnels, Henrietta silent while the Doctor looked about him. They entered a lift which began descending. "Don't talk much do you?" said the Doctor. The Cyberman didn't reply. "I'd be happy to go the rest of the way if you'd just point" said the Doctor. The Cyberman didn't respond. "Those Cybermen" said the Doctor. "Haven't met any helpful ones for a long time." The lift stopped. "Our stop?" said the Doctor. "You will continue to follow me" said the Cyberman. They did so. "When did you last encounter the Cybermen?" asked Henrietta as they again walked through tunnels. "Oberon" said the Doctor. "The Cybermen have not been in the Solar System for centuries" said Henrietta in an annoyed tone. "So did you think they were gone? That's happened before" said the Doctor. "Yet they keep coming back." "A lot of people though they were still hiding somewhere in this Galaxy, but I didn't think they'd be here" said Henrietta. The Doctor saw an opening ahead and smiled. "Perhaps now we'll get some answers!"

They walked into a large room covered in advanced machinery. "Haven't seen stuff like this for years" said the Doctor. He saw a figure on a throne at the end of the room, with wires leading into the walls from the throne. The Doctor walked forward and stopped in amazement. The man was wearing a Cybernetic helmet, with the handles, and wires connecting him to the throne. He was wearing dark clothing and had a bearded face. "You!" cried the Doctor, amazed. "My dear Doctor" said the Master. "Welcome to Maladoom."


	4. Enquiry

The Doctor walked over the uneven ground. He had waited till Ace was asleep to land the TARDIS. It would be better if she didn't see this. There were times when it was better to be secretive. The Doctor looked up at the gate of the city, on a small world known as Enquiry. It was warm and the main feature was a city, containing places of information divided up via Galaxy. Each year was about 191 Earth days. This wasn't the first time the Doctor had been here, but he hadn't visited Enquiry for over 300 of its years, and wouldn't visit for over 200. It was a world known for having a lot of information but most didn't regard this world well, due to the reputation of the people it attracted. If anybody asked they hadn't been to Enquiry, and the inhabitants hadn't seen them. It was best to deal in untraceable cash.

In a huge library in the Eighth Galaxy section a tall spindly wormlike creature with 5 eyes sat behind a polished, shabby table while looking through a heavy tome, centuries old. It had a set of wires leading from a crown round its domed head. "Hello there! I'm the Doctor!" said the Doctor. "A Doctor?" said the worm, interested. "We get all sorts here. What do you want to know?" The Doctor slid a chunk about the size of his hand towards the worm. The worm tested the chunk with a small mineral scanner. "Concentrated Trisilicate" he said. "I'm looking for information on a man called Callidus Dominus" said the Doctor. "Callidus Dominus?" said the worm. "He's involved with a r-r-rather powerful group called the Cult of Augustus" said the Doctor. The worm turned to the row of books and touched one with one of the pincers on its body. Its eyes closed and light shone from the crown, then it turned back to the Doctor. "This information is restricted" he said. The Doctor sighed and slid another piece of concentrated trisilicate across the table. The worm pulled both pieces under the table. "Remember you didn't hear this from me" he said.

"Callidus Dominus is apparently a member of the Cult of Augustus, a powerful society based in the Eighth Galaxy. It is difficult finding records of Callidus Dominus or the Cult but an early confirmed sighting of him was at a 2000th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen." The Doctor smiled, remembering his own watching of that series. It had proved more interesting to him in this incarnation. "So where may I find this Callidus?" he said. "It is difficult to know where" said the worm. "The Cult of Augustus is rumoured to be working to take control of the Eighth Galaxy using the forces of the Malpha System, the most powerful in the Galaxy. The Malphans are currently working on the People's Republic of Sapphire. Looks like that Government is about to be overthrown." "Thank you" said the Doctor, raising his hat. "You have been a great help." The Worm coughed uncomfortably. "Of course I never saw you" said the Doctor. He turned and walked out of the city.

When the Doctor was out of sight the worm pressed a button under the table. A holographic image of an old man with determined eyes appeared. "I told him everything he needed to know" said the worm. "You were listening in?" "I was" said the old man. "You will find the trisilicate at coordinates 24,31,14,55." The image faded. The worm took the wires out and wriggled away quickly.

Outside the city the Doctor entered the TARDIS and activated dematerialisation. Ace walked in. "Where are we going now Professor?" she said. "The planet Sapphire!" said the Doctor.


	5. Slonerto

A space ship moved through the edge of a Galaxy. A Malphan gave orders to a Cyborg Ogron driving the ship. "Set a course for the Malphan System." "Yes" said the Ogron, pulling a lever. The ship was carrying a fortune worth of concentrated trisilicate, smuggled right under the noses of the Galactic authorities.

Round the corner of a ship a man in a frock coat and leather waistcoat ran along, followed by a human woman. "When are we getting back?" said the woman in a Northern accent. "Don't worry Lucy, I've just sabotaged the controls… Ah." The Doctor stopped in his tracks as 4 Ogrons blocked his way. "You go with us to Captain" said one of them. "We're not going anywhere with you big apes!" said Lucy angrily. "Lucy, Lucy, I think we should listen to these Ogrons" said the Doctor. "But first I should probably confess where the TARDIS is." "TARDIS?" said the Ogron curiously. "Yes. It's down here" said the Doctor, pointing to the stairs. He began walking there. "Stop!" said the Ogron nearest to him. "You will be searched first!" "Oi you big ape, I'm not being searched by you!" said Lucy angrily. The Ogron next to her raised his gun. "Don't shoot us unnecessarily!" said the Doctor. "You might want to question us!" The Ogron lowered his gun. Both the Ogrons pulled out handheld machines, which shone a light over the Doctor and Lucy. The Ogron next to the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver and TARDIS Keys. "Now you take us to the TARDIS!"

"Are you really going to let those Gorillas in tin hats into the TARDIS?" said Lucy as they approached the cargo hold. "Of course!" said the Doctor loudly. "Not" he whispered to Lucy. They got to the TARDIS. "You open it" said an Ogron. "You know there's no need to talk so rudely" said the Doctor as he rummaged round in his pockets. "Open the door!" snarled the other Ogron. "I'll get the Keys" said the Doctor, walking to the Ogron, who held out the Keys. The Doctor jumped over but stumbled against the Ogron, who dropped the Keys. "I am sorry" said the Doctor, reaching down to pick up the Keys. He walked over to the door and began working on it. "What are you planning?" whispered Lucy. "Well I was just planning a small burst of sonic once I have got these doors opened!" he said. He had the Key in the lock but was fiddling with the sonic screwdriver.

"What are you up to?" snarled an Ogron suspiciously. "Well I'm hoping to take all 4 of you down with a small object and then travel to another time" said the Doctor. The Ogron looked confused. The Doctor smiled and turned round with the sonic screwdriver on. The Ogrons roared and staggered back, clutching their helmets. "Quick! Into the TARDIS!" said the Doctor, jumping in with Lucy. He slammed the door behind them as the Ogrons began to recover. There was a thumping on the doors while the Doctor used the controls. The TARDIS was soon once again flying through space and time. "What was that about?" said Lucy. "Well Lucy those Malphans and Ogrons were performing a huge smuggling operation of weapons. I just made sure they would lose the cargo" said the Doctor. "Unfortunately those Ogrons blocked our way to the TARDIS." "So that's why we had to hide in that box of mud for half an hour" said Lucy. "I'm going to have to change my clothes. No peeking Doctor." "I have no intention of that" said the Doctor.

As Lucy left the main room the TARDIS jolted. The Doctor desperately ran round the room, pulling levers as he tried to stabilise the TARDIS. A few minutes later Lucy ran in. "What's bleedin' happening here?" she said. "Time distortion" said the Doctor. "Coming from a nearby planet…" He examined the readings. "I might have been there before!" he said happily. "It's Slonerto!" "Might?" said Lucy. "It's hard to remember that part of my life" said the Doctor. "You can't remember everything if you're in your 900s. I was in my 400s at that time, I think" said the Doctor. "Can't you just go a million years away?" said Lucy. "Well yes but the vortex is being disturbed. I love a good mystery!" said the Doctor. "We're going to Slonerto now."

On Slonerto a military base and a cohort of troops were gathered round an important scientific experiment. Huge chronon-manipulating machines were set up, a recent invention of the Virmok forces. Slonerto had been invaded the previous year by a horde of spaceships from Virmok. This planet had only recently gained the technology to travel to other systems. However they had recently made incredible technological advances, such as breakthroughs in warp-technology that allowed them to descend on their nearest worlds before the forces could be mustered. Virmok was now becoming the main power in this corner of the Galaxy. The Malphans were the most powerful race in the Galaxy, but their forces were stretched and they relied on a network of alliances, nearly all their worlds had local rulers. Virmok was ruling through brutality, their forces holding weapons that could devastate a planet in a minute. On Slonerto they were working on time travel using the rift. It was this time distortion that the TARDIS had sensed.

The TARDIS continued to jolt round. "This is making me sick!" cried Lucy. "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy I can sort this OUT!" cried the Doctor as he lurched forward. He grabbed the console, tried steering for a few seconds, then activated dematerialisation. The wheezing sound began again.

The troops round the rift heard the TARDIS materialising and looked round for the sound. They soon saw it materialising just next to one of the Chronon-Manipulators, which had just finished a period of concentrated fire on the rift. "Surround it!" said an Officer. His troops ran forward as the door opened and the Doctor and Lucy staggered out. "Hello, I'm the Doctor…" began the Doctor but a blow in the chest from a gun-butt sent him down. "Oi! What are you doing?" asked Lucy as guns were pointed at her. The cohort commander walked by, speaking into a communicator on his wrist. "I have just received a report from the Governor. The intruders are to be taken to his castle."

The Doctor and Lucy had their hands cuffed and were marched to a huge castle less than half a kilometre from the base. "You know, it can get tiring having to wear these gloves" said the Doctor. "Quite sure they can't be slackened?" he asked the Commanding Officer politely. "Quiet!" snarled the Officer. "There's no need for that!" said the Doctor. A hit in his back nearly knocked him over. "Alright! I'll be quiet!" he said, very unquietly.

They got to the huge door of the castle, which was decorated with symbols. The Doctor was interested. "Old High Gallifreyan! It wouldn't surprise me if this Governor was a Time Lord. Most of them corrupt or don't care, most of the rest are the Universe's biggest menaces." The Officer looked confused but spoke into his communicator. "They are here." The door opened and the cuffs were taken off. "Planning anything with us?" asked Lucy. "In" said the Officer bluntly. "I think we should obey…" "I can tell that!" said Lucy as they walked inside and the door closed.

"ANYBODY HERE?" yelled the Doctor, causing Lucy to cover her ears. There was a grinding sound and a thick smoke began to fill this room. "Doctor…Can't breathe…" said Lucy. "I hope…don't…real spaceship crash…" said the Doctor as he fell unconscious after Lucy.

Lucy came to and looked round. "Hello? Doctor?" she said, looking around. She was in a small room, with walls made of large stone blocks. Before her was a heavy metal door. She tried it. "Locked. Bleedin' typical!" she said angrily, kicking it. She walked round and looked up to see advanced looking machinery on the ceiling. "Watching me are you? Well let me OUT!" she yelled angrily.

From elsewhere in the castle the Governor watched these events on a screen, smiling. He turned to the Doctor, who was strapped in a chair. "You know all this torture stuff is getting to be quite annoying" he said as the Governor walked up to him. The Governor was wearing dark armour, with a red and white striped sash with an image of Slonerto showing his Governorship. He wore a helmet with a spike about 20 cm long on top and had a dagger sheathed in his sash. His face was hidden by a mask, though his eyes could be seen, old and cruel dark eyes. They narrowed as he looked at the Doctor and stepped forward. "You are with Lucy" he said. "If you hurt her…" "You'll destroy me! I know you well" sneered the Governor. He pulled his dagger out. "Careful with that! Wouldn't want that sash to be the wrong shade of red" he said.

There was a flash of black and his head jerked one side. "You nearly gave me whiplash" he said, ignoring the pain on his left cheek. The Governor sneered as he tucked the dagger back. "How typical. Using humour despite what you have been through. You will be like that to the end." "The end? Are you from my future? Valeyard? Anything to say about spurious morality?" said the Doctor. The Governor walked back and pulled a lever. The Doctor screamed as thousands of volts of electricity were blasted through his body. "Was that supposed to be painful? I've felt worse in games of sport before I was 50" he said.

The Governor pulled the dagger out again and slashed the Doctor's arm. The Doctor yelped as blood poured out but then gave a forced laugh. "I could regenerate." "I know" said the Governor. "But you are not meant to regenerate here. Your regeneration will come after more deaths, when your people are embroiled in a war tearing time apart."

"What are you doing to Lucy?" asked the Doctor suddenly. "She is in a time sieve" said the Governor, pointing at the screen where Lucy was moving slowly. "4000 times slower. If Time Lords have the time they can make such marvellous pieces of technology. Especially near such a weak point in the web." He sneered at the Doctor. "There is so much I hate you for…" "Are we going to go through the same routine?" asked the Doctor. "Another long evil plan explained, then you don't kill me for hours, then I stop you…" Another blast of electricity shot through his body. "Trying to cook me?" he laughed. "An Androgum? Are you wearing a mask to cover the warts?" "Despite your best efforts you will not die here" said the Governor angrily. "But you can go through a lot without regenerating. I'm sure you know that after all you've been through."


	6. Aurora

A beautiful dawn lay over a world. Across the surface a Time Lord in a long brown coat and trainers ran along happily, followed by a medical student. Several kilometres away was a small town with a large telescope-tower jutting upwards. "Which planet is this?" asked Martha, looking at the purple skies. "Aurora!" said the Doctor. "Named over the Goddess of the dawn. Has one of the best dawns this quarter of the Galaxy! People come from all over to see this." "Quite a romantic sight" said Martha, looking at the dawn dominating the sky. "Yes. I should have come here earlier" said the Doctor thoughtfully.

In the distance they suddenly saw a cloud of dust moving towards them. "Doctor, what is it?" said Martha, seeing it was an open-top hover-car. "Don't worry! If there's trouble we just act like we're in charge" said the Doctor. The hover-car stopped next to them and a creature with a domed head and grey-brown skin left, carrying a package. "Vogan are you?" asked the Doctor. "Yes" said the Vogan. "Someone at the Memnon Hotel gave me some trisilicate and asked me to deliver this package to this location, to..." He waited for a reply. "The Doctor" said the Doctor. "Just the Doctor." "Planet?" said the Vogan. "Gallifrey" said the Doctor.

"Just the man I want" said the Vogan, handing over the package. "Sounds very Back to the Future" said Martha. "Is it someone from you in the future?" The Doctor smiled. "Sounds like the sort of thing I'd do. Probably the sort of thing that short Scottish guy would do." "Short man?" said the Vogan. "It did seem to reassemble your species. Had an umbrella with a hook." The Doctor looked curious. "And the Scottish accent?" "What's that?" asked the Vogan. "Well, it means r-r-rolling your…" began the Doctor in a bizarre accent. "That was him" said the Vogan. He climbed back into his hover-car. "Well, bye then Doctor" he said, driving away with such speed that within half a minute he was hundreds of metres away from them.

The Doctor began opening the package and a hologram rose from it, of a man wearing a straw hat. "Hello there! I'm the Doctor, one of them anyway. This is a message to my future self, on behalf of another self. I need you to go to the co-ordinates pr-r-r-gramed into this device…" The Doctor looked at the piece of equipment from which the hologram was being projected. "Just plug it into the TARDIS and you can do the r-r-rest!" said the strange man. "Sorry I can't say more…" The hologram vanished.

"So who was that?" asked Martha. "Me" said the Doctor. "Well, me some time ago. Well, me when I was in a smaller body." "Why…" began Martha. "No time for that!" cried the Doctor loudly, running back towards his TARDIS. "If he's contacted me, I definitely need to go wherever he wants me to." Martha followed the Doctor into the TARDIS as he ran up to the console and began connecting the device to the console. "This might be a bumpy ride" he said as he made the connections. The co-ordinates flashed on the screen. "Somewhere in the Eighth Galaxy, around the 40th Century" said Doctor. "Not Balthazar again?" said Martha. "No, as far as I know he never visited the Eighth Galaxy" said the Doctor. "But I will be!"


	7. Picralt

In a triple-star system was two worlds. One was a giant of gas, incapable of supporting any life like humans. But the other was a lush and fertile world, a world which was of great interest to terrible space powers. As it spun through the stars a fleet of spaceships moved towards the world. But unnoticed to them other ships were descending towards the planet.

The TARDIS again materialised, within sight of a large forest. The Doctor and Norine walked out. "Quite sure that the War-Feeder is out?" said Norine. "No more attempts for him to gain form?" "Like I said he'll still be around, but hopefully it will be many years before we meet again" said the Doctor. He smiled. "But now we're on a new planet! Lots to explore!" He looked at the forest. "There can be a lot of exciting stuff hidden in forests. Come along Clarke" he said cheerily, running to the forest followed by Norine.

As they got to the forest the Doctor suddenly stopped and spun round, Norine nearly running into him. "What was that?" asked Norine. "There's something here" said the Doctor, spinning again. "Something watching us!" Norine looked around. "It's a forest. There's always something watching us." There was a buzz nearby and they heard a rustling in a large bush with green flowers. The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the area and pressed the button. A few glittering insects flew out, followed by a red frog-like creature the size of a hand. "That was probably it" said Norine. "And I'm sure we can fight them off!" She grabbed a branch and pulled at it, finally falling over as it broke. The Doctor smiled. "Don't worry. I know enough to get us out of most problems" he said as he straightened his bow tie.

"Be still!" said a voice next to them. The Doctor wheeled round and saw 3 tall women pointing weapons at them. A look of amazement, then realisation dawned on his face. "What are those?" said Norine raising the branch. "We are the Petrans" said the Petran at the front. "I know" said the Doctor. "You've met them before?" said Norine. "Some years ago" said the Doctor. "Scan them" said the Lead Petran. The Petran to her right took out a small device with a satellite on, and ran a red light from the device over the time travellers. "One human and one…Time Lord!" she said. "A Time Lord? Are you the Doctor?" said the Lead Petran. "Yes" said the Doctor menacingly. "I am the Doctor." "This is excellent news!" said the Lead Petran. "Take them to Captain Troma!"

They were marched to a ship at gun-point for a few minutes. Every time the Doctor tried to say something the Lead Petran would bark a "Quiet!" They finally got to the ship. "I suppose we should go in" said the Doctor, walking into the ship. Norine glanced behind her at the Lead Petran, who gestured at her with the gun. She walked inside cautiously. Inside was an advanced array of machinery, managed by a variety of Petrans. At the front a Petran wearing a red uniform was sitting in front of a large screen which showed a variety of areas. She had just turned as the Doctor entered. "Who are these?" she said. "This being is human. The other one is the Time Lord known as the Doctor" said the Lead Petran. "Captain Troma I presume!" said the Doctor running forward. "The Time Lord" said Troma. She regarded the Doctor with a mix of superiority and fear. "So, why do you want me?" said the Doctor. "We want you to help us" said Troma. "Against the Daleks!"

"The Daleks?" said the Doctor darkly. "What do they have to do with this?" "We have taken up habitation in the Picrogu Galaxy" said Troma. "All we desired was to live in peace. But then the Daleks attacked. They seek to conquer the whole Galaxy!" "How long has this been going on?" said Norine. "I'd like to know in Earth years." "How long are..." said Troma. "I'll work it out!" said the Doctor excitedly. He examined the Petran computers. A moment later he whirled back to Norine. "It's been going on for seven Earth years" said the Doctor. "Doctor..." said Troma. The Doctor turned back to her slowly. "Do you have the record of our last meeting?" he asked curiously. "We know you were responsible for the failed invasion of Gallifrey" said Troma. "But that was centuries ago. We have changed since then." The Doctor looked around the ship. "So" he said, clapping his hands together "…why are you here?" "10 Dalek ships were deployed towards this system" said Troma. "There are stories in the records of the surrounding worlds of an incredibly advanced civilisation existing on this world, Picralt, many centuries ago. A lot is not clear about them and comes from records of the Vykoids." "Met them before! Small and dangerous? Stopped them invading Earth..." "What about these Picralt people?" said Norine. Troma continued. "They were said to have created a weapon of immense power, something that could destroy an entire race. If there is something like that we must get it before the Daleks do."

Less than five kilometres from where the Petran ship laid a small Dalek ship landed, too small to be detected, just as the Petrans had sent one ship. From the ship came a small force of 20 Daleks. Inside the Platoon Commander communicated with a Strategist. "We have landed! Sections 1 and 2 are being deployed!" it said. "We will take the Casket of Death!" said the Strategist. "Remain in constant contact with them! Do not make the Petrans aware of our presence!" "I obey!" said the Platoon Commander. "The Petrans will be exterminated! We will conquer the Picrogu Galaxy!" said the Strategist.

"I will personally lead the exhibition" said Troma. "You will remain here Doctor." "I can't remain here!" said the Doctor. "I need to see what this device is. If the Daleks are here I need to stop them! And I have a lot of experience with that." Troma thought about this for a moment. "Agreeable Doctor." "What exactly am I going to do while you're away?" asked Norine. "I'd like to look at this world rather than see the inside of a small ship." "These Daleks are dangerous…" began Troma. "I've met them" said Norine. "And it's not like I haven't met dangerous things before. War-Feeder, Amplusunguis…" "You can come!" said the Doctor. Troma looked uneasy, but didn't object. They walked out of the ship with another 8 Petrans.

The Daleks continued to glide along towards the forest. They had split into two groups. They had detected a slight energy source in the forest, but had been unable to find the exact location. However they hoped that by moving through the forest they could find where the weapon was hidden.

The Petrans, the Doctor, and Norine walked through the forest. "So, where do we go from here?" said Norine. "We have a faint trace" said Troma. "Perhaps you can help us Doctor?" The Doctor scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver and held it up to look at it. "Aha!" he said. "There should be something…" He did a 270-degree spin. "…That way!" he said, pointing to his left. "We will try that way first" said Troma. They began to walk through a forest, hearing screeches and chatter around them. There was a sudden roar and a reptilian creature which had been sitting among the branches leapt down in front of them. From head to tail it was over three metres, a pale green colour with a beak and two claws over two foot long on each of its four legs. The tail swished about as the creature reared up and gave a chattering roar, its forked tongue flicking out like a flame. "Fire!" cried Troma. The other Petrans began to fire, but the creature resisted the first sally of blasts, moving forward with frightening speed. "Stay as we retreat!" said Troma to another Petran. The group began to move back as the monster got to the Petran and stood on its hind legs. It's claw slashed out, striking the chest of the Petran and bringing it down. But at the close range several blasts had torn through the monster's skin. It staggered but remained standing as its blood poured it. "Doctor…" began Norine, but another shot rang out, bringing the creature down. The Doctor and Norine looked at Troma, who had fired the shot.

"We must proceed. This is evidently a dangerous area" said the Captain. "But what about her?" said Norine, pointing to the downed Petran. The Doctor ran over and examined her, lifting her arm. "There's venom in her" he said. "She's in a coma. We might be able to revive her…" "We don't have time" said Troma coldly. "But we can still save…" began the Doctor. Troma pointed her gun at the wounded Petran and shot her through the head. "What…What did you do?" said the Doctor. "We were putting her out of this state" said Troma. "She would have slowed us down." "So you're just another end justifies the means" said the Doctor. "Killing everybody and just making calculations, it will all work out eventually. Nobody should ever think like that." "Petrans work for the greater good of the Petran race" said Troma. "If we had left her she would have died slower anyway. We would likely have all been killed by local life or Daleks." "You can't…" began the Doctor, but Troma pointed her gun at him and cut him off. "I am in command here Doctor. Now we will continue." They left the area, the Doctor and Norine with reluctance.

A few minutes after they had left the area Daleks moved towards the two bodies. "Scan the Petran!" said the Commander to the Dalek behind it. "I obey!" said the Dalek. It scanned the body. "Petran dead from energy discharge at head, though there are traces of venom!" said the Dalek. "Scan the other creature!" said the Commander. The Dalek obeyed. "It's venom matches that in the Petran!" "How long since the death of the Petran?" said the Commander. "Less than 400 rels!" said the Dalek. "The Petrans must be close. Scan surrounding area! The Petrans will be found and exterminated!" said the Commander.

As they moved on through the forest Troma turned to the Doctor again. "Make sure we are going the right way." "Why exactly should I?" said the Doctor. "We're fighting against the Daleks!" said Troma. "Fighting against the Daleks doesn't always make you good" said the Doctor. "The Daleks have a lot of enemies. Cybermen, Time Lords, other Daleks made from humans, humans…But those aren't always the good guys." "Very well" said Troma. She gave two huge strides towards the Doctor and seized his arm painfully. "You will perform this action because we want to" said Troma. "You haven't changed" said the Doctor. "Still acting true to the plans of Redglove. Conquer all you can!" "Just like the Daleks then!" said Norine. Troma threw the Doctor down and moved over. Norine grabbed a branch from the ground but Troma snatched it from her with ease and hurled it away. "Stop!" said the Doctor. He took out his sonic screwdriver. "I'll help you!" He began using the sonic screwdriver again and after a few seconds pointed ahead to his right. "Lead us there" said Troma. "Or both of you will be neutralised!

After another minute of walking the Doctor stopped. "Well, here it is!" he said. Ahead of them was a bunker, about three and a half metres high, and covered in bushes. Troma walked forward and came to the door. She reached out towards it then stopped. "You!" She pointed at one of the Petrans and gestured forward. "Test the door!" The Petran obediently moved forward and touched the door. There was a flashing and strange symbols appeared on the door. Troma turned to the Doctor. "Open this!"

The Doctor scanned the door. "Deadlock sealed, made of a powerful material, not even a nuclear bomb could crack this door!" He touched the symbols and laughed as he looked at them. "I think I recognise them! I saw these in an archaeological dig! These are millennia old!" "Less talking" said Troma. "We must open this before the Daleks!" The Doctor touched a symbol and pulled it towards another symbol. "So that's like a key" said Norine. The Doctor continued to work on the door, pulling more symbols together. After doing this four times the symbols disappeared. "This should let us in!" said the Doctor. "I hope so Doctor" said Troma. The Doctor was right, the door sliding away.

He began to move inside, followed by Troma. Inside was a very dusty room, with ruined equipment lying around. But the main item in the room was a metal box, one metre high, two metres long, and one and a half metres wide, with similar symbols on and an array of switches. "What does it do?" said Norine. "Yes Doctor. How does it spread death?" asked Troma. The Doctor examined the symbols. "And don't lie" said Troma. The Doctor sighed. "Well, might as well tell. This is a specialised Genocide Machine. The Daleks developed devices like this before but this is even more difficult to block. It sends out an energy wave that targets the DNA of a species and destroys it. Like a biting sniffer dog that targets every cell... It's nothing like that, forget I said that. The wave could spread over this entire planet in a second, and can't be stopped!" "So, how is it activated?" said Troma. "Well you just put the specimen of the species you want annihilated here" said the Doctor, pointing to a small protrusion on the side. "You activate it. Then you send out the wave. But when it has been programmed to target the DNA it will only annihilate that species. Any attempt to open the device, and it will self-destruct." "So why did this people leave something like this lying around?" said Norine. "Do they like creating death machines?" "Seems this was nearly finished" said the Doctor. "Maybe they were at war and their enemies finished their version of this device before them." "Place the anti-gravity device on" said Troma. Two of the Petrans walked forward, one placing a device on that lifted the Death Casket into the air. "You will accompany us" said Troma to the Doctor. "If you try to escape…" "…I die, I get it" said Norine.

However as they left the bunker a cry of "Exterminate!" was heard. Two blasts shot out, killing the Petrans carrying the Casket. "Take cover! Neutralise them!" cried Troma diving behind a tree, a blast narrowly missing her. "Down!" cried the Doctor, moving behind the Casket with Norine. "Do not fire on the Casket!" said the Commander. "It must remain undamaged!" A blast struck its eyestalk, blasting its head open. In revenge for this, three Daleks concentrated fire on a tree, blasting dead the Petran who had done so. "The Doctor is present!" cried one of the Daleks. "He must be exterminated!" Another Dalek was blasted apart. However the Petrans were being thinned down. Troma pulled something out and hurled it at the Daleks. There was a powerful explosion, blasting them all apart. "Doctor…" began Norine. "Just a mo" said the Doctor, who was doing something to the tube at the side. He pulled it off. "Run" he said quietly. He and Norine began to move away, trying not to be noticed. The Petrans and remaining 2 Daleks were too engrossed in the fight to notice.

"You will be exterminated!" cried a Dalek which had been hiding nearby. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "This has been transmitting a signal for the past minute" he said. "Soooo soon…" There was a clucking nearby and something burst out of the trees. It was… "A Tree Dragon!" cried Norine. "I don't remember them being…Great name!" said the Doctor. Another Tree Dragon jumped from a tall tree. "Exterminate!" cried the Dalek, firing at the first Tree Dragon. "Run!" cried the Doctor, doing so with Norine. "Halt!" cried the Dalek. "Or you will be…" The other Tree Dragon attacked it from behind. "Stop! Stop!" said the Dalek, as the Dragon tore its eyestalk up. "Alert! Vision is impaired!" it squawked. "Alert!"

The Doctor and Norine burst out of the forest. "Get back to the TARDIS" said the Doctor. "I need to find out more about the Petrans." "Why do I have to go back?" said Norine. "I need to find out more about this Death Casket" said the Doctor. "But, you took that tube…" "DNA-Scanner" said the Doctor. "But both races are advanced enough to still learn a lot from that device. And nobody should have that device!" "I'm sure it could help…" "Really, get back to the TARDIS" said the Doctor. "I don't want to lose anybody else to the Daleks." "Alright" said Norine. "I'll go then." She began walking back to the TARDIS when she heard someone walking behind her. "Doctor?" she said, turning around and adopting a combat stance. She heard running moving round and then behind her. She turned and saw Troma moving at her with incredible speed. She began running back and opened her mouth to cry out. But her throat was seized with crushing force and her arm held in a painful lock. She struggled to stay conscious, but the gun was pointed at her and fired.

The Doctor moved towards the Petran ship slowly. He had to be careful; knowing that if the Petrans knew he was here they would do whatever it took to get him. As the Doctor saw the ship in the distance he saw a satellite turning round and heard a whirring sound. "A scanner" he said. He smiled. "Time for a bit of sonic." He spun round, using his sonic screwdriver to interfere with the scanner. The door of the ship opened, causing the Doctor to dive down, though he remained watching the ship. Out came Troma, dragging by the arms a figure with her hands behind her back. It was Norine, who the Doctor saw had metal clamps round her wrists, ankles, and mouth. The Petran threw her to the floor and looked round. "Doctor" said the Petran Captain loudly, "I know you can hear me!" While Norine glared defiantly at her she pointed the gun at the girl's head. "You have 10 micro-spans to give yourself up" said Troma. "Or the human dies." She began counting. "1, 2, 3, 4…" "Alright! Alright! I'm here!" said the Doctor, bursting out of hiding and running towards the two females. "You got me." He looked at Norine. "Release her!" "You are in no position to make demands" said Troma. "But I will free her. Though she shall remain on the ship." She pulled of the clamps. Norine rubbed her wrists. "I wish you knew how painful it was having her hands behind your back like that!" she said. "Get onto the ship!" said the Petran menacingly. "Both of you."

Soon they were on the ship and standing in front of the Casket. "Place the component back in the device" said Troma. The Doctor began to do so. "You seem to be neglecting something" said the Doctor. "How you going to get a Dalek for this device?" said Norine mockingly to Troma. "We can soon capture a Dalek" said the Captain. "You, however, will be taken to our weapons labs. You will be very useful."

There was a bang and the ship shook. "What is that?" cried Troma at a technician. "A Dalek ship!" cried the Technician. "Take off immediately!" cried Troma. There was an even greater bang and the lights flickered. "We cannot take off!" said the Technician. "Then fight!" cried Troma. "And be ready to destroy the Death Casket to prevent it being seized by the Daleks! Attach explosives to it!" A Petran grabbed a similar bomb to the one Troma had used against the Daleks earlier and attached it to the Casket.

Outside a Dalek Platoon Carrier flew around the Petran ship, sending down a hail of energy. The Dalek Platoon Commander cried out orders. "Concentrate fire on their power supply! Prevent them taking off! It is of maximum importance not to damage the Casket!"

"Perhaps we can escape" whispered the Doctor as the Petrans tried to fight back. "But the Daleks would exterminate us" said Norine. "Trust me, I have a plan" said the Doctor. "From the sound of it they won't fire on the casket." He crept over to the casket, Norine following. He tested the weight of the Casket, which still had the anti-gravity clamps on. "When I say run, run out of the door with the casket" whispered the Doctor. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the door and pressed the button. It opened. "RUN!" yelled the Doctor. The firing meant it took a moment for the Petrans to realise what was happening. Even then they were uncertain of whether to shoot, due to being told not to kill the Doctor and the bombs placed on the Casket.

On the Dalek ship the Commander surveyed the battle below. It knew how important getting the Casket was. The Supreme Strategist of the fleet had taken personal command of this operation. The war over the Picrogu Galaxy had meant the Daleks had to halt expansion elsewhere. It was estimated they were highly probable to win if continuing at current capacity and the war was turning into one of attrition, both sides near-equally matched, but the Daleks having more resources. However they had found out enough about the Casket of Death to know it could turn the tide of the war. "Alert! The Doctor and his companion have been sighted with the Casket!" said a Dalek. The Commander surveyed the two. It considered launching an attack on them, within a few rels the Doctor, the most dangerous Predator of Daleks, could be exterminated. But in the process the casket would likely be destroyed, which would likely greatly lengthen the war with the Petrans. The Commander made its decision. "Do not attack directly! Section 3 will move down and secure the Casket!"

But as the Dalek was distracted a powerful blast from the Petran cannons struck the ship. It teetered in the air before crashing to the ground. "Into the forest!" said the Doctor, running with Norine as Petrans moved out of their ship. The Petrans were halted by the surviving Daleks, both sides fighting rather than getting the Casket. For the next few minutes the Doctor and Norine ran to the forest. "We might just be able to escape them!" said the Doctor. "That's the trouble with Daleks. Too concerned with extermination…" A loud rushing sound was heard over them and a shadow fell over the area. The Doctor and Norine looked up to see a huge saucer-shaped spaceship, much larger than the Dalek Platoon Carrier. 'NO! NO!' cried the Doctor as a terrible voice boomed from the Saucer. "Doctor! This is the Supreme Strategist of the fleet! You will surrender the Death Casket immediately!" From the Saucer tens of Daleks began to descend, like a murder of crows swooping down to feed on a battlefield. The Doctor looked at Norine sadly as they ran into the forest. "This doesn't look good" he said. "Can't you just use the Casket against them?" said Norine. The Doctor stopped abruptly and smiled. "I think I can!"

On the ship the Supreme Strategist of the fleet relayed an order. "Send the rest of the Legion towards this world!" They had intercepted a message from the Petran ship, and knew that soon a Petran Squadron would be at this world to seize the Death Casket. They must be ready to repel the Petrans. Another thought occurred to the Strategist. "Capture Petrans alive! We must test the Death Casket!"

As the Doctor and Norine moved through the forest they heard a "Halt!" They turned and saw about 10 Daleks pointing their weapons at them. "You are our prisoners! Do not move!" said the Dalek Section Commander. "Come any closer and I'll blow the Casket up!" said the Doctor, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and waving it at the bomb on the Casket. "You will leave the forest!" said the Dalek. "There's enough room in here for us both…" began the Doctor. "Silence!" screamed the Dalek. "Leave the forest."

As they moved out from among the thick trees they looked up and saw a Red Dalek lowering itself towards them, followed by over 20 Daleks. "Do not defy us or you will be exterminated!" it snarled. "But so will your precious Casket. And I'm not letting you get your grubby suckers on that!" said the Doctor. The Daleks moved away, but still kept their guns trained on the Doctor. "You cannot escape! Soon the rest of the Legion will be here! We will take the Casket and the Petrans will be…" "…Exterminated!" said the Doctor with it simultaneously. "Yes, but I still have the Casket" said the Doctor. "We will enable you to return to your craft if you allow us the Casket" said the Red Dalek. "A machine designed especially for genocide. The perfect Christmas present for a Dalek" said the Doctor. "Alright Daleks. I'll take you up on your offer. Bring my TARDIS over here." The Red Dalek swivelled round. "Bring the TARDIS here!" 5 Daleks swooped away. "Doctor, you can't be helping these Monsters!" said Norine. She picked up a stone and threw it at the Red Dalek, more out of rage then at hoping to do any damage. "Don't shoot!" cried the Doctor urgently, waving his sonic screwdriver at the Casket again. The Red Dalek glared at Norine but didn't shoot.

The TARDIS was soon brought back and lowered to the ground a few metres from the Doctor. "You will enter the TARDIS and leave the Casket. We will exterminate the Petrans!" said the Red Dalek. "You don't think I've got through centuries of travel by trusting the likes of you?" said the Doctor. "Move away or your Casket will be in pieces!" "We are not letting you take the Casket!" said the Red Dalek. The Doctor knew he couldn't let the Daleks anywhere near his TARDIS. There were many races who would sacrifice worlds for access to the TARDIS and the Daleks were no exception. "Only one Dalek!" he said. "Or is one of the master race of the Universe too weak to take one little Casket?" "One Dalek is capable of exterminating all!" said the Red Dalek. It turned towards one of the Daleks who had taken the TARDIS over. "You will remain here and take what is necessary!" said the Red Dalek. "The rest of us will retreat!" "I obey!" said the Dalek, dropping to the ground while the other Daleks moved away.

The Doctor began to move the Casket towards the TARDIS, the Dalek following. "You will open the TARDIS!" it said. "Doctor, you said yourself you can't trust the Daleks!" said Norine. "I know that better then you!" said the Doctor, as he tinkered with the Casket. "What are you doing?" said the Dalek. "This is just like that Rutan weapon…" muttered the Doctor. "YOU WILL STOP OR BE EXTERMINATED!" said the Dalek. "If anybody is going to be exterminated it won't be ME!" cried the Doctor, suddenly pressing a switch on the Casket. A beam of bright energy shot out and struck the Dalek. "Movement impaired!" cried the Dalek. "I cannot move!" "Doctor! More Daleks!" cried Norine. The Daleks were again moving at them. "Just a moment…NOW!" cried the Doctor, activating the casket with his sonic screwdriver.

From the Casket burst a wave of light, illuminating the area. The Daleks in the air dropped like stones, suddenly changing from their status as birds of prey in a second. They crashed to their ground like hideous hail. The wave continued to spread out, moving all over the planet. The huge Saucer, hundreds of metres in the air, was hit by the terrible genocide wave. Every Dalek on the world was destroyed, down to a cellular level, before the other Daleks had reached the ground. The Doctor smiled. "Never underestimate the Doctor" he told Norine. "It can be very bad for your health." "How did you get it to work so quickly?" said Norine. "The Casket was nearly finished!" said the Doctor. "Just needed the creature it was supposed to kill."

"Doctor, didn't they say the rest of the Legion…" began Norine. "Of course!" said the Doctor. "Well, I think we know what to do about that!" "What are you doing?" said Norine. "You will release me or will be exterminated!" said the Dalek, still held by the ray from the Casket. "Just getting ready to set the Casket off again" said the Doctor. "That whole Legion will be blasted apart." He smiled. "A machine that specifically kills Daleks. A lot of people would love something like this." "Are you going to give it to the Petrans?" said Norine. "I may not like Daleks but I'm not letting the Petrans have this either!" said the Doctor. "But with it I will put quite a dent in the Dalek forces!" "The Daleks will still control this Galaxy!" said the Dalek. "That could happen" said the Doctor. "But if you're here then less of you will be elsewhere. You don't seem like the sorts to give up to the Petrans. And the end of a Legion should lengthen this war." The Dalek began to shudder. "Self-destruct activated!" it said. "NO!" cried the Doctor. "You're not getting away…" But the Dalek continued to shake. "Back to the TARDIS!" yelled the Doctor to Norine. "Soon more Daleks will be here." "What about the Death Casket?" said Norine as they got to the TARDIS. "It will be wrecked in the explosion from that Dalek!" said the Doctor as he opened the door. "I'd say destroying over 2000 Daleks is a good day's work anyway."

As they entered the TARDIS there was a loud bang behind them. They ducked down as pieces of machinery flew about, and then looked back at the mess of Dalekanium and machinery from the Dalek and Casket. The Doctor and Norine stepped out and the Doctor scanned with his sonic screwdriver. "Completely destroyed!" he said. "Nobody should have the power of that Casket." There was a whirring sound overhead and looking up they saw several Dalek ships drifting down. "We'll be off then!" said the Doctor. They rushed back into the TARDIS, which had soon dematerialised and was again spinning through the vortex.

However as they continued through the vortex a figure appeared on the console, an older man with a straw hat. "Is this thing turned on?" The Doctor looked up in amazement. "Not another one of this" he groaned. "Hello there me! Well, me later" said the hologram, revealing a Scottish accent. "Don't know why I'm calling but I think you've just had some trouble with the Daleks." "Is that another one of you?" said Norine. "He looks like that Magician in your mind." "It is me!" said the Doctor. "When I was...smaller and centuries younger. But why is he..." "So, the reason I am breaking the r-r-rules of our people to speak to you is to tell you to go to the Time Saucer base. I've programmed the co-ordinates into your TARDIS. You just need to check." The Doctor examined the readings. "Ha Ha!" he said. "They're there! But..." "When you get there make sure they chase you to the next co-ordinates" said the Scottish Doctor. "Someone from our future told me the r-r-right point for contact. Now get going! I'm sure I can rely on me. Goodbye and good luck!" He raised his hat and disappeared. "Are we going?" said Norine. "Of course we're going!" said the Doctor. "Trust me! I'm sure I can rely on myself... most of the time." The TARDIS moved through light millennia to the Dalek base.


End file.
